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Topic: Just 1 panel for now... (Read 1888 times)

I do not have anything worthy of showing that relates to Star Wars, but thought I'd share a quick sample of a work in progress. This is a rough panel I whipped out to practice inking with a brush. I have had a really frustrating time improving, but it may have had to do with the brush I was using. Finally shelled out the $23 for a Windsor and Newton series 700 #2 brush. Amazing what a consistant and definite point a Kolinsky sable brush will give an inker. All ink work here is done with a brush and this is enlarged about 50% from the original. The background is zipatone (an almost extinct material). It has an adhesive backing and you place it and x-acto it to fit. It's a lost art form and I can rarely find it anywhere other than Japanese wholesale Manga supply sites. This is a panel for a comic in the works. I will post more soon. The last page I was begining to ink is no longer... I was about 65% done with the brushwork and going to move in with a little croquill and zipatone when I dropped the brush. Not sure how or why, but a brush full of ink dropping on a finely inked page (that had about 4 hours of work in it) doesn't help the quality much. Brushing is challenging, but really rewarding when it comes together and one keeps the brush in their hand... This is a much more raw approach than what the look of the actual comic will have. I think that I may delve into it a little for some of the darker and more raw panels. I do much better when I don't think and just do it. I tend to muck it up if I concentrate too hard. Ability vs. intent. When I just do it, it is free and confident. Try too hard and I'm grinding to hold it together and be perfect and I fall apart. Practice, practice...

I did a Star Wars image a year or so ago. I was in a Jack Kirby tribute mood. This is just a scanned pencil sketch. The foreground hand is Simpsonish and I curse myself for not working it a bit more. Oh well, it's just a sketch.

Thanks Brad. While I like to think I know a lot about art as an educator and practicing (but not for an income) artist, I am still flawed. The great thing about being an artist is that it is something that can be improved upon and one can never know enough.

I recently read that the art critic for Time magazine was in a horrible accident and while recovering he had a dream. The dream was about a Goya painting (that does not exist) and he was somehow in it. This motivated him to delve into Goya as a man and an artist and write an extremely profound book about him. I guess what I'm saying is sometimes what we pass by or take for granted can become something very important and personal to us down the road. Art is a human experience that is always changing and evolving. This art critic never really gave Goya's work the time of day. Then a dream led him to explore Goya's work and it became a journey that was both educational and personal.

I find I suck at many things. But those are the things that I try to work on as much as possible. Then I hope that by practicing and working at them, I won't suck so much. I quit drawing regularly for about 7 years. In that period, I sculpted and if I drew, it was as a teaching device for my students. When I wanted to start drawing seriously again, I expected I'd start where I left off. I sucked! I couldn't draw anything the way I saw it in my mind. I struggled and it took a long time to draw anything well. So I turned to drawing from life and anatomy. It got me grounded and I became much better quickly.

I aspire to do great things with my art, but life interferes a lot. I would post more of my comic art, but the subject matter is controversial and not protected properly yet. Once I get things a little more squared away and the idea becomes a reality, then I'll post more.

Here is the first half of page one of my comic in progress. It's just layout pencil on tracing paper. The lettering will be given more attention with the finals. Thought the roughs turned out pretty nice. I'll post the first half in this reply and then do another after with the second half. Let me know what you think...

I've actually withheld comment because I've been waiting to hear from others first. Seems like I'll just have to chime in on my own here.

Your style(s) (cause I think you're pretty damn good in more than one) are so cool and effective as far as storytelling. The comic pages are awesome and I want to see more. Umm, can't think of anything else to say except that you've got a big fan in me. Please e-mail me about BD, and the other project you've been working on - I'm still very excited to hear about the progress of both.

BD (the initials are to protect myself and the concept. So I will refer to it a Beyond Darkness for the time being) - Had my 'roughs' critiqued last week and because they have a finished quality to them, I was ripped apart. If they were more sketchy, I could have had the excuse of "I didn't have time to add that...". They said it was well rendered, but the sequence of events needed to be more obvious. Panel 3 on page 1 should have a guard posted and seen in the background so it eludes to the guy in panel 4. They thought I had more emphasis on that mailitia dude than the main character and need to change that up. Otherwise, it was compositon and/or proportion/positioning of the figures. So, I have a lot to do before class tonight. Life is way too busy...

I have the script rough done for the first ish of BD Brad, but it needs to be cut and polished for the final pages to work (too wordy). I have issues 2, 3 & 4 mapped out, but not scripted. Slow is all I can say about the progress...

My script was also ripped apart and I have a ton of changes to work through that I do not want to. It's much more difficult to edit and change things than it is to write the initial ideas or script. But, I hope to revise and turn it in by the end of March. Will keep you updated and post the progress of the pages I posted already...

Here is the almost completed splash of my comic. I have spent approximately 10 - 12 hours drawing, inking, laying Zip-A-Tone and correcting/refining it. Just need to do the tree branch and some minor corrections and add type.

I used a brush for everything except the Zip-A-Tone areas (patterned shading fill). I will do the tree limb with a China marker (grease pencil). This is not a very great scan. The actual size is 10" x 15" and won't fit on my scanner, so this is from a photocopy at 69%.

The challenges were many, but some things I think are helpful to know are:

- All waterproof, india or black ink will not give opaque and solid blacks. The reason is they stopped putting lead in it for obvious reasons. In order to get the ink to give you really nice and solid blacks, you need to let it sit out and sludge up a bit. After some time, mix it with any other ink and mix carefully. It did the trick for me. I have been experimenting with different inks and still am mixing a bunch of different one's together to get a good black (Dr. Martin's, Higgins Black Magic, Blick India Ink, FW...). When I find something that is worth sharing I'll post the recipe.

- Zip-A-Tone is extinct. They do not make it anymore (at least the brand name). It is patterned value fill to keep from having to do separations for the printing process. The back is adhesive or there is tranfer Zip that you lay down with a burnishing tool. The transfer stuff is really rare to find now, but I have some from my graphic design days and did the pine trees with layers of application. If you want the modern version, you have to go through the internet and oder it from Japan. It is a big thing in Manga art. I luckily stumbled on a large cache of Zip from the 1960's when searching through some old boxes at my grandmother's house. A friend of my uncle's left it 20+ years ago when he was in school in Colorado and won't miss it. It's a great technique to add and creates some really nice texture and values.

- Don't ever discount white out when inking. I prefer Pro White. It is dry and you add water and it gives a great opaque white that is easy to ink over and you need only apply it once for total coverage. Wite-Out pens are also very good and leave the surface workable for those very small areas. I used to just stop and start over when I flubbed an inking job, but with Pro White, I realized that just finishing an inked page is hard enough and you can repair any mistakes if necessary. I've seen inked pages by Frazetta, Eisner, Kirby... that all have some correction fluid applied. Even the best make mistakes. Don't give up. See it through and then make the necessary corrections.

Here is the page, I will post the finished page and the other 2 I am working on soon.

Thanks Brad! Always good to hear that at least you are seeing this. I know it's not SW related, but it's something that I like sharing and hope it can at least inspire others if not give them some reaction - positive or negative.